The Past Month at a Glance

Well I have been traveling for about a month now and I am just getting around to posting my first blog. I guess this now proves Johnny is a better “blogger” than I will ever be! Not only did he post weekly correspondence but his witty style will be hard to match.
Now where to begin…..First off to those who don’t know already I am safely here in India but between now and when I left Canada I have been in 3 countries, 6 planes, countless cars, and hotels around the world.
My journey began with a VERY sad departure from Pearson International airport
on October 21/04. While I was busy crying, Johnny spotted the one and only Don Cherry in all his glory about 2 feet from us, a nice distraction from my leaving, but not enough to subside my crying. I was a small town girl entering the big world all by herself and not even Don Cherry could distract me!! Johnny was a strong shoulder for the wimp that I am, so thanks a lot for helping make my departure easier. I owe you big.
Anyways I made it on my own and it’s been go go go since I boarded the plane. After the 18 hour journey from Toronto to Seoul, Korea, I met up with my best friend since grade two, Andrea. She has been there for about 3 months teaching English and was able to show me the sights and sounds, not to mention the soju (the local alcohol). We headed up the DMZ (NOTE: the border between North and South Korea is the most protected border in the world….surprised you didn’t know that!!!) which seems like an odd tourist attraction but it is a piece of Korean history that one shouldn’t miss.

Also while I was in Seoul, Andrea the best shopper I know took me shopping on traditional streets as well as another street that seemed dedicated to knock off purses, and fake name brand wallets. It was a good mix for souvenir shopping! I also got to spend some time in her town just outside of Seoul where I attended some of her classes as well as got to eat some local food. Names of food escape me now, but I know ‘dog’ is a Korean delicacy.
After only spending 6 days in Korea, I headed westward to India with a six hour layover in Singapore. Don’t worry folks on my way back home to Canada in April I get to spend 4 days in Singapore and 5 days in Hong Kong, so I will have even more Asian adventures for the blog!!

After finally arriving in India I was greeted at the air port with a fresh flower necklace by my parents and was escorted home by their personal driver. Now I know you are thinking “whoa a personal driver”, but let me tell you, you NEED a professional driver in this country. A 4 lane highway is made into an 18 lane highway full of auto rickshaw’s, cows blocking the road, thousands of cars, motorcycles and bicycles not to mention vendors and ox-drawn carts.

Now by this point I have only spent 3 days in India when my parent’s friends from Peterborough wanted to take me to Sri Lanka for a 6 day jaunt. Now I ask you, who would turn up that offer? Even though I was still feeling the effects of jet lag we had a great time. Many of the sights in Sri Lanka deserve their own blog, but seeing an elephant orphanage, tea plantation, and countless pristine beaches was an experience I will never forget. We also did a safari type tip where we were able to see many exotic birds, wild bore, and even wild elephants. All in a days work eh?

Now that I am back in India again and after traveling and being on the road since I’ve been here, I am beginning to consider Bangalore ‘home’. We just got back today from a long road trip up into the mountains as it was a long weekend here in India, Diwali. Diwali is like the Indian Christmas so lots of parties and gifts not to mention the traffic was near impossible. Actually we almost didn’t make it back to Bangalore today as there was a national strike and closure of all border crossings between provinces. Our driver recommended we leave at 3am this morning so I am a bit tired as I write this blog.

So I guess that’s my past 3 weeks at a glance. Sorry it’s so long but the next blog will hopefully much shorter. Thanks to all who actually read this whole post and I would love to hear from you all.
Until next time, this is Jesse Tinker signing off.